Laser Welder
The Laser Welder (also referred to as the Plasma Welder), short for the R2 High Energy Plasma Laser Welder is a special tool found in several levels of Viscera Cleanup Detail. The Laser Welder appears as a large, yellow, metallic gun-shaped device with two canisters on its right side, a pink-pulsating core in the center of the barrel, and a three-pointed rotating piece at the front. Overview Unlike default tools such as the mop or sniffer, the Laser Welder is not given to the player at the start of a level. It can instead be found left on the ground in various parts of levels, similar to the Shovel or Broom. Also like those secondary tools, the Laser Welder can only be utilized by first picking up the tool with the hands selected. It is deactivated either by swapping to a default tool (hands, Mop, Sniffer, PDA) or by picking up another non-default tool such as the Shovel or Broom. Switching tools will cause the Laser Welder to be thrown a fair distance away in the direction the player is facing, instead of simply being dropped as with other objects. While holding the Laser Welder, using the primary trigger (left-click by default) causes it to emit a powerful pink and orange beam from the rotating barrel at its front. This beam pushes and eventually incinerates any objects in its path. Sparks, smoke, and a bright red/orange can be seen emanating from where the beam impacted the wall or object. The secondary trigger (right-click by default) has no effect on the device. Like other objects found in levels, the Laser Welder can be brought to the Office via the Janitor's Trunk, however in this particular case the player will incur a penalty to their score for "stealing" company property. Usage Bullet Holes Bullet holes come in three variations: metal bullet holes, which appear as small, rippled dents with holes in the center; cracked bullet holes on other materials such as glass or stone, which simply appear as several cracks surrounding a dark hole; and a custom variation created by the laser welder added in version 0.48 (see Overheating). Prior to version 0.48, the laser welder could only create metal bullet holes, regardless of the material fired upon. The laser welder now creates a separate type of bullet hole, appearing as a deformed, slightly melted area, as seen to the right. Bullet holes may take different amounts of time to be removed with the laser welder depending on the level and the manner in which they were created. If the bullet hole was created by the laser welder itself, it may take several seconds to remove. However, if the bullet hole was present when starting the level, it may be removed in only one or two seconds (however this does not apply to all levels). Firing the laser welder on or near a bullet hole will cause the hole to glow orange for a few seconds before fading back to its normal state. To completely remove the bullet hole, the player must fire the laser welder directly onto the hole for several seconds until it completely disappears. It is interesting to note that if the player looks away from a glowing bullet hole for any amount of time and then looks back, it will still be glowing the same amount as it was before the player looked away. Lightning Scars Lightning scars appear as glowing blue "tears" on a surface such as a wall or floor. They can be found in multiple varieties of shapes and sizes, sometimes overlapping one another. Multiple lightning scars may appear to look like one large scar. Lightning scars are removed in a similar way to bullet holes, but unlike bullet holes, the player can better note the "progress" of their welding by the lightning scar changing color. It glows bright orange when fired at, like bullet holes, but the orange color lasts much longer, and the blue color begins to fade in stages. It may take several firings, roughly the same as fixing three or four bullet holes, to completely remove a single lightning scar. Acid Burns Acid burns can appear in Uprinsing, caused by vials of acid that are broken on unpainted surfaces, or acid splats that are left on surfaces too long. They may appear as faint dark marks, or as deep burns that are similar to the marks an overheated welder causes. Other Uses Firing at nearly any item with the laser welder for long enough will eventually cause the item to become incinerated. This applies to both organic and inorganic objects. The player may take advantage of this to partly incinerate large body parts or other debris that may be located too far from an incinerator. Firing at organic objects such as viscera and bodies will produce black and red crisps/chunks of varying sizes, relative to the size of the item fired at. These objects will not create any kind of mess when dropped or otherwise moved. If an inorganic object is fired at, it instead leaves a pile of melted solid with a small patch of soot underneath. The size, shape, and colour of this solid depends on the original object. The time it takes to incinerate or melt an inorganic item varies relative to the size and type of object. Paper trash can be fully destroyed with one short burst from the laser welder, while large metal objects may require several prolonged direct hits. Generally, objects that should not be incinerated or removed from the level (such as crates and barrels) will take longer to incinerate with the welder, and will produce larger melted-waste piles to discourage the player from attempting this. It should be noted that firing the welder at a barrel with a flame icon will cause the barrel to explode and create a very large amount of soot instead of simply being reduced to a melted pile. Any object, including burnt organic matter and melted solids, can be further incinerated with the Laser Welder, until it disappears and is replaced with a small pile of soot. Overheating If the laser welder is fired for long time periods, the barrel will become overheated and glow a bright pink/orange as a result. If the player does not stop firing when this happens, the laser will begin to shoot out 1-3 small fireballs that move across the floor and walls, traveling away from the laser's point of contact in a random pattern, leaving long trails of soot behind them (sometimes in inconvenient areas only accessible by using the J-HARM). The moving fireballs can be prematurely extinguished by using the mop on them, stopping them from creating more soot trails. The overheated laser will also create a new bullet hole at the point of contact. Because of this it is recommended that the laser welder be fired in short, successive bursts instead of a continuous manner. Range It is important to note that the laser welder actually has a maximum range of about 6 to 7 meters (20 to 25 feet). When the target of the laser welder is outside of this range, the beam will simply stop in mid-air and produce no sparks or smoke, as the beam is not actually touching any object. However, the laser welder can still overheat and produce soot if fired for too long. No bullet holes will be created outside of the laser welder's range, such as on high-ceilings. Firing the laser welder into areas outside of the device's range can be useful for illuminating dark areas for short periods of time without the use of a lantern or similar object. Notes If the player incinerates the laser welder or steals it via the Janitor's Trunk, an angry message will be found in the Office after punching out. * However, in the event that the player transports a laser welder from the Office to a level via the Janitor's Trunk, the developers stated, "If the level didn't have it at the start, then the presence of a welder or the destruction of countless welders during play will have no effect once you punch-out." Firing the laser welder at a fellow janitor in multiplayer mode will kill said player. The fireballs caused by overheating will sometimes incinerate objects they come in contact with. The original viewmodel of the Laser Welder was slightly different, and emitted a different-looking beam. AdvertisementCategory:Tools A vendor has a small chance of dispensing an advertisement for the Laser Welder. According to the advertisement, the Laser Welder's model name is the "R2 High Energy Plasma Laser Welder", manufactured by Black Wheel Industrial Sanitation Inc. The advertisement reads as follows: :"Black Wheel Industrial Sanitation Inc. :High Energy Plasma Laser Welder :Troublesome bullet holes? Stubborn welding jobs? :You need the new R2 High Energy Plasma Laser Welder! :Melts surface damage back into shape in mere moments! :Strong enough to turn anything into sludge within seconds, the R2 is no play thing, but it sure is fun to use!" Image Gallery Laser Welder viewmodel.jpg Laser Welder viewmodel.png Laser Welder.png Beta Laser Welder.jpg LaserWelder-Firing1.jpg LaserWelder-Firing2.jpg LaserWelder-Usage.jpg LaserWelder-Player.jpg LaserWelder-WasteDisposal.jpg